Welcoming committee It was a beautiful beach day on Fakarava! The last two years I’ve went out with Christophe from Fakarava Excursions for the blue and green lagoon and a deep water snorkel at Pufana rock (sp). It’s an awesome trip but I was looking for something different. Reports are that Christophe put out a great tour again and I’m happy to hear that he didn’t disappoint this years group. Fakarava is an Atoll in French Polynesi. Like the Maldives, an atoll is a ring-sh

I found Nemo ! He’s been hiding under my bungalow:) Imagine waking up, popping a bottle of Champaign, and then snorkeling directly from this balcony! The entire stay was like living in a movie set. There is a reason Jimmy Buffer found the inspiration to write “One Particular Harbor” about this exact spot. As my sister says, “Moorea is where God created the World”. I shot all this GoPro video from the bungalow areas at the Hilton, Moorea When home is at the top of the stairs

You know you are someplace special when Jimmy Buffet writes a song about the place you are staying. The inspiration for “One Particular Harbor” originated from time Buffet spent at property owned by his friend Hugh Kelley. The property overlooked Cooks Bay and Opunohu Bay. The Hilton is perched on the point of land connecting both Baya and truly is a place worthy of a song (and album title) if there ever was one . Arrival photos Getting a ride to the best bungalow on the pro

HAL dropped the ball on St Patty’s day activities during the day (they did have a pub crawl for $29 in the evening and reports are that it was a hoot). In true Professional Passenger Party Planning mode, my friends Cash and Crew whipped up a bag pipe player (what are the odds) and organized a parade around seaview pool. Sometimes you just gotta make chit happen…… I apologize to all involved for quality of these videos- I’m short and there were lots of tall people!

The activities staff whipped up a Nieuw Amsterdam Ball for us on the last formal night. I say “whipped up” because this event didn’t show up in the planner until the day prior. The Rolling Stones sets were all reworked with different times (refer to the legendary daily blog of exact times) and events like the chocolate extravaganza were added. I put on a sparkle top and heels- it’s the best I could do. My days of really dressing up are in the rear view mirror. Met with Mar

Our 2026 Group All Aboard Most of the snorkeling tours in Raiatea include a stop at the vanilla and pearl farm. Bruno is the only operator to offer a swim only tour which skips the vanilla and pearl farm in exchange for additional snorkeling and a leisurely experience where there is more than enough time at each stop. And we are off! Boat number one It is not Christmas and we aren’t in Mexico but it’s a singing sail away tradition I look forward to :) My Captain- this guy s

If you’ve sailed on Holland America, you know that the orange party is one party onboard where you can count on HAL to bring it- and that they did! I want to stress that Holland America has really upped their game when it comes to bringing high energy fun. Whomever is the putting together the activities is putting more effort in than I have seen before. Bringing in the world stage cast to sing and dance at the evening parties is a nice touch, and holding them at the lido is m

I will give credit where credit is due and whomever is planning the parties is putting in substantially more effort than either year on the K’dam and it shows. The last two years the masquerade party has been pretty lame. This year the decorations in Rolling Stones were on point, and there was a lot of crowd participation with the masks. I suspect that is because while the ship was in Honolulu, the staff went and bought a whole bunch of crafting supplies and held multiple art

The sale entry is every day as beautiful as the sailing into Venice used to be. If you get up super early, we sail by Bora Bora, but it’s pretty dark. The last three years the captain has opened up the bow at 6 AM. I highly recommend you get out and about for the sailing because it is very unique. First, the ship sales passed Bora Bora, and makes a turn to enter the lagoon at the north end of Tahaa. Shipp makes a sharp right turn in sales down the West Coast of Tahaa before c

This is the third year in a row I have visited this little rustic Motu in the South Pacific. Located just a short water taxi from the town of Uturoa, Raiatea, a relaxing beach day at Motu Ofetaro is the perfect first day in French Polynesia. This year Holland America threw a little wrench in our plans as use of the dock was claimed so our ship was forced to tender. I think we adjusted well given we grabbed tender tickets at 8:50 and were in the line to buy water taxi tickets

We arrived in Honolulu on Sunday, February 22nd and have had exceptional weather considering other parts of Oahu are under flood warnings. It’s sunny and hot in Honolulu. As some of you may know, we had an unexpected overnight here when Kauai was pulled from our itinerary due to weather.    I like overnights very much. The crew likes them more. The crew is often allowed to leave the ship on overnight visits. In order for them to get more time onshore, I put my “no thanks” tag

I’ll go out in a limb and claim that our trip to the Monkeypod was a smashing success (in more ways than one given how strong those MaiTais are). We had somewhere between 25-30 of my newest friends in attendance and only one person didn’t like the famous MonkeyPod Maitai so that’s a score. Everyone else seemed to share in my obsession with that honey Liliko’i foam (iykyk). A little birdie (aka the bartender) told me a couple folks met the 5 maitai limit which makes me proud.

Below are the results of the 2026 whale watch. Feedback was overwhelming positive which makes me happy since I organized a group close to 50 in numbers and did not want to disappoint. Tail Tail Tail!! Our fabulous group checking in This year I did something slightly different. During our pre-cruise meeting at the best Western, I had people take a second name tag and write any rideshare event they were looking for (example- “whale watch” or “monkeypod”).. This way, most people

Embarkation Saturday February 14, 2026 Sunday February 15th Monday February 16th Tuesday, February 17th Wednesday February 18th Thursday, February 19th Friday, February 20th Maui, Hawaii 8-6 Saturday February 21 Hilo, Hawaii 8-6 Sunday, February 22 Honolulu Hawaii 8-11pm Monday, February 23 Kauai cancelled but we overnighted in Honolulu instead Tuesday, February 24th Wednesday, February 25 At sea Thursday, February 26th We have crossed the international line and entered the

A legendary cruise is a special voyage from Holland America where they add lots of nice little touches along the way. These voyages are typically over 30 nights long and come with a price tag to match, so lots of time for HAL to make us special. We’ve already received nice insulated coffee mugs and a beautiful legendary cruise canvas bag as gifts, but HAL also puts on additional parties and food events throughout the cruise. I’ll be adding as the voyage progresses. T ypicall

It doesn’t matter how many times I cruise, the first moment I lay eyes on a cruise ship I’m about to embark upon takes my breath away. Just a little gasp, but a little gasp so filled with gratitude that it sneaks right out my eyeballs. I feel so fortunate to be embarking on this 35 night journey thru Hawaii, Tahiti, and marquesas (for the third time). Sometimes I find myself wondering how is this my life? I’m just a small town girl from Michigan doing her best to make her d

Visit www.awanderingdoc.com for more information Aloha Everyone!! I'm Cheryl. AKA "Bermudabound2014" on the Cruise Critic Platform. I have sailed this exact itinerary in both 2024 and 2025 and created a blog to document our travels. I make nothing off this blog. There are no advertisements. My blog is simply a place to share travel adventures. If you are looking for every single daily from this cruise in 2025 (plus every Main Dining Room Menus), all my tour info, and live co

If you have them, slip on a string of Mardi Gras beads for easy identification and meet your future travel friends at the Sea View Pool for Nieuw Amsterdam Sail Away Party!! If anything like the last two years, the entertainment crew will lead some dances and special sail away drink specials will be offered. As your host, all I offer is a nametag and friendship. The crew does the rest. Finding me should be easy. I'll be the one holding a stack of nametags, wearing this shirt

I did not shoot this video, but Sherpa and I are on the zodiac in the background How:  Pacific Whale Booking   (book at link) Where: Ma’alaea Harbor on Maui When: 10:30 a.m. boat tour start time. (Check in at 9:45 am ) Why: It’s Whale Soup Time!! Meet: 8:30 am in Billboard Onboard if you would like to find someone to share the cost of transportation to Ma'alaea Harbor. PacWhale hasn't posted the boat assigned to the 10:30 tour but it is likely to be this one (or something si

Meet me in Billboard onboard at 8:45 for a prompt walk to get tender tickets in Rolling Stones at 8:50 :). Motu Ofetaro Motu Ofetaro Participants Participant(s) Cruise Critic Screen Name (if applicable) Cheryl Bermudabound2014 Nick & Carolee ChawkJewel Susan & Allan cruisinsusin Nick & Robert Jeanne & Ron Flamingogal Pam & Kim cruise-pc Mike & Pam Campingcruiser1 Linda & James Longleggedtraveler Albingirl Bavaro Tim & Julie Jocelyn Mitch & Patty Bonnie and Michelle Debbie & W